Steam Deck

Elden Ring, the spiritual successor to the Dark Souls franchise has a large and dedicated fanbase. This stubborn crowd stretches from consoles to PCs and even handhelds like the Steam Deck. In fact, it’s the fifth most-played game on the Steam Deck with…a lot of concurrent players. We have posted our PC optimization guide for the game, but before that, here’s a performance review with optimized settings for the Deck.

Performance and FPS

Elden Ring runs at a consistent 45 FPS average on the Steam Deck using our optimized graphics settings. This includes game world traversal, minor skirmishes, and most boss fights. The frame rates dip to 40-42 FPS with too many on-screen particle effects, but that’s about it. Overall, the performance is highly stable with no major FPS drops.

Graphics Settings

We Elden Ring in fullscreen mode with the resolution set to 1280 x 800 (800p). Ray tracing was disabled, and a mix of low-medium advanced graphics settings was employed. The Steam Deck system refresh rate was set to 90 Hz which complemented the average 45 FPS framerate.

Texture quality was set to “High” and grass quality to “Medium.” Motion blur, depth of field, and SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion) were disabled. You can set the latter to low for improved visuals, but you’ll experience drops into the high 30s. Antialiasing, shadow quality, lighting, effects, volumetric, and reflection quality were set to “Low” as were water surface, shader quality, and global illumination.

Visual Quality and Battery Life

Elden Ring looks great on the Steam Deck, maintaining the art style the game is known for. The only thing missing is high-performance ambient occlusion, but that’s a matter of preference. The battery life lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes on a full device charge.

Elden Ring: Best Steam Deck Graphics Settings

Optimized Graphics Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	800p (1280 x 800)
Lighting Quality	Low
Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO)	Off (Low for 35-40 FPS)
Texture Quality	High
Antialiasing	Low
Motion Blur	Off
Depth of Field	Off
Grass Quality	Medium
Global Illumination Quality	Low
Shadow Quality	Low
Water Surface Quality	Low
Reflection Quality	Low
Shader Quality	Low
Volumetric Quality	Low
Effects Quality	Low
Ray Tracing Quality	Off

Red Dead Redemption 2 is among Rockstar Games’ most popular titles. Alongside GTA 5 (here’s our optimization guide), it ranks among the most widely downloaded media. The PC version was delayed and launched with various performance issues. Since then, most of these problems have been ironed out, with added support for upscaling technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS 2 and AMD FSR 2. We’ll soon RDR 2 on our mainstream and low-end systems, but for now, here’s our Steam Deck optimization guide.

Performance and FPS

Red Dead Redemption 2 ran at a consistent 45 FPS using our optimized graphics settings on the Steam Deck, with brief drops to 38-40 FPS in crowded areas like Saint-Denis. In the wilderness and on inter-town routes, the frame rates remained at 45-50 FPS. The system refresh rate was set to 90 Hz which provided a smooth experience on the Steam Deck.

Graphics Settings

We used a mix of medium to low graphics settings in Red Dead Redemption 2 on the Steam Deck, with the texture quality set to ultra, anisotropic filtering to 2x, and FSR 2 to “Quality” mode. The base resolution was set to 800p (1280 x 800), with lighting, global illumination, shadow, reflection, volumetrics, water, tesselation, and particle quality set to low.

Screen space ambient occlusion and fur quality were set to medium, while the remaining settings were turned off or set to their lowest value. The in-game screen type was set to fullscreen, and v-sync and triple buffering were disabled.

Visual Quality and Battery Life

Red Dead Redemption 2 lasted approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes on a full charge. The game looks great on the Deck, maintaining the high visual standard RDR2 is known for. This is largely due to the high pixel density (small screen) and the high-quality textures. The game remains among the most visually stunning titles on the Steam Deck with fluid performance.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Best Steam Deck Graphics Settings

Optimized Graphics Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	800p (1280 x 800)
V-Sync	Off
Texture Quality	Ultra
Anisotropic Filtering	2x
Lighting Quality	Low
Full Resolution Screen Space Ambient Occlusion	Off
Water Reflection/Refraction/Physics Quality	Low
Motion Blur	Off
Reflection MSAA	Off
TAA Sharpening	N/A
Geometry LOD	0
Grass LOD	0
Tree Quality	Low
Parallax Occlusion Mapping Quality	Low
Decal Quality	Low
Fur Quality	Medium
Tree Tesselation	Off
Global Illumination	Low
Shadow Quality	Low
Far Shadow Quality	Low
Ambient Occlusion Quality	Medium
Water Quality	Low
Reflection Quality	Low
Mirror Quality	Low
Volumetrics Quality	Low
Particle Quality	Low
Tesselation Quality	Low
AMD FSR 2	Quality
AMD FSR 2 Sharpening	Player choice
TAA/FXAA/MSAA	Off
HDR	On
Advanced Settings	Unlocked
Graphics API	Vulkan
Near Volumetric Resolution	Low
Far Volumtric Resolution	Low
Volumetric Lighting Quality	Low
Unlocked Volumetric Raymarch resolution	Off
Particle Lighting Quality	Medium
Soft Shadows	Off

Apex Legends is among the ten most popular Steam games, with a daily player count of nearly 300K. We tested it and posted our PC optimization guide with Windows and system-level performance tweaks in April. This guide looks at how Apex Legends performs on the Steam Deck handheld and recommends the optimized settings. We tested the game on the OLED variant of the Deck, but the performance and settings should also apply to the base variant.

Performance and FPS

Using our recommended graphics settings, Apex Legends averages 90 FPS on most maps with a brief drop below 60 FPS after the ship jump. Combat-intensive moments involving multiple thermite grenades or Fuse’s ultimate ability (the fiery stuff) can bring the framerate down to around 78-80 FPS. Overall, the performance is very stable.

Graphics Settings

All graphics settings were set to the lowest, although texture filtering can be bumped to Trilinear or 2x Anisotropic. Ambient occlusion drastically impacts image quality, and the lowest quality setting offers the best compromise between visual fidelity and performance. The remaining settings, including shadows, model details, and effects detail can be safely set to low without sacrificing much detail on the small screen.

The texture steaming budget is set to “Very Low” 2 GB, and anti-aliasing to TSAA which uses temporal accumulation to improve visual quality. Settings like impact marks, ragdolls, and FOV ability scaling are best left at the lowest. The system refresh rate is set to 90 Hz, and in-game v-sync and adaptive resolution are disabled.

Visual Quality and Battery Life

Apex Legends looks decent on the Steam Deck, especially considering the fast-paced nature of the shooter. The battery lasts for 2 hours and 15 minutes on a full charge.

Apex Legends: Best Steam Deck Graphics Settings

Optimized Graphics Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	800p (1280 x 800)
V-Sync	Off
Adaptive Resolution	0
Adaptive Supersampling	Off
Anti-Aliasing	TSAA
Texture Streaming Budget	Very Low (2 GB)
Texture Filtering	2x AF
Ambient Occlusion	Low
Sun Shadow Coverage	Low
Sun Shadow Detail	Low
Spot Shadow Detail	Disabled
Volumetric Lighting	Disabled
Dynamic Spot Shadows	Disabled
Model Detail	Low
Effects Detail	Low
Impact Marks	Disabled
Ragdoll	Low

Cyberpunk 2077 was launched in a sorry state on PC and consoles in the 2020 holiday season. Since then, CD Projekt Red has worked hard to optimize the game for various hardware, including the Ryzen 8000 APUs, and the Steam Deck handheld. In 2024, Cyberpunk 2077 is among the best-optimized titles on PC, producing well over 60 FPS on most hardware. Here’s our PC optimization guide. In this one, let’s look at its performance on the Steam Deck OLED.

Frame Rates and Performance

Cyberpunk 2077 averages 45 FPS on the Steam Deck using our optimized settings. In the in-game benchmark, we recorded lows of 40 FPS and a peak framerate of 48 FPS. This was using Radeon Software 23.10.2 and game version 2.12.

Graphics Settings

We tested Cyberpunk 2077 at 800p (1280 x 800) on the Steam Deck, in Fullscreen mode, with in-game V-sync disabled. HDR10 was enabled, and the framerate limiter was disabled. The system refresh rate was set to 90 Hz, twice as much the average refresh rate. We used a mix of low/medium graphics settings with FSR 2 upscaling set to balanced mode.

Texture quality was set to “High,” texture filtering to “AF 8x,” and crowd density to “Low.” Contact shadows, and improved facial geometry were enabled, while ambient occlusion, and LOD were set to “Medium.” Local shadows and cascaded shadows were also set to “Medium” and distant shadows were set to “High.” Ray-tracing was kept off.

Visual Quality and Battery Life

On battery, Cyberpunk 2077 lasts 2.5 hours on a full charge using the below graphics settings. The game looks great for a handheld with a locked 45 FPS performance at 90 Hz.

Cyberpunk 2077: Best Steam Deck Graphics Settings

Optimized Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	800p (1280 x 800)
Field of View	90
Motion Blur	On
Depth of Field	On
Texture Quality	High
Texture Filtering	AF 8x
LOD	Medium
Contact Shadows	On
Improved Facial Lighting	On
Local Shadow Mesh Quality	Medium
Local Shadow Quality	Medium
Cascaded Shadows Range	Medium
Cascaded Shadows Resolution	Medium
Distant Shadow Resolution	High
Volumetric Cloud Resolution	Medium
Volumetric Fog Quality	Low
Maximum Dynamic Decals	High
Screen Space Reflections Quality	Low
Subsurface Scattering Quality	Medium
Upscaling	FSR 2.1 “Balanced”
Ambient Occlusion	Medium
Color Precision	Medium
Mirror Quality	Medium
Ray Tracing	Off

Hogwarts Legacy has had a successful run in the PC space. After topping Steam charts for several months, the game now holds the fourth spot as the fourth most popular game on the Steam Deck. Hogwarts had a shaky PC launch with poor frametimes and stuttering even on high-end systems. Since then, Portkey Games has worked hard to optimize its debut title for various systems, including the Steam Deck. And the results speak for themselves.

Hogwarts Legacy: Steam Deck Performance Review

Frame Rates and Performance

Hogwarts Legacy runs admirably on the Steam Deck despite featuring next-gen graphics and a vast open world. Using our optimized settings, we achieved a stable 40 FPS, the sweet spot for Steam Deck gamers, especially in the latest AAA games. This was in the resource-intensive Hogsmeade region of the game. In the wilderness, you’ll likely get higher framerates

Graphics Settings

We used the “Low” quality preset for Hogwarts Legacy on the Steam Deck. The display resolution was set to 800p (1280 x 800). The “Texture Quality” was set to Medium, and FidelityFX Super Resolution “FSR 2” was set to “Quality mode.” Ray tracing was disabled, and the FOV was set to 0. V-Sync was disabled, and the framerates were uncapped. The system frame limit was set to 40 FPS with the refresh rate set to 80 Hz.

Visual Quality

Hogwarts Legacy looks visually appealing on the Steam Deck despite the low settings. The smaller screen hides the low pixel density and reduced shading quality. The PS4 and Xbox One run the game at 30 FPS for comparison.

Battery Life

The Steam Deck OLED lasts approximately 2.5 hours running Hogwarts Legacy using the abovementioned settings on a full charge

Hogwarts Legacy: Best Steam Deck Settings

Optimized Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Window Mode	Windowed Fullscreen
Resolution	800p (1280 x 800)
V-Sync/Framerate	Off/Uncapped
Upscaling	AMD FSR 2 “Balanced”
Field of View	0
DOF/Motion Blur/Film Grain	Off
Shadow Quality	Low
Texture Quality	Medium
Material Quality	Low
Sky Quality	Low
Fog Quality	Low
Effects Quality	Low
Post Process Quality	Low
View Distance Quality	Low
Population Quality	Low
Foliage Quality	Low
Ray Tracing	Off

Baldur’s Gate 3 is among the best RPGs ever made. We tested the game last month and posted the optimization guides for midrange and low-end PCs. This post covers the performance of BG3 on the Steam Deck, including the best settings to attain a stable 30 FPS gameplay. Before we proceed, please note that Baldur’s Gate 3 is quite CPU intensive, and the 5-year-old Zen 2 chip on Valve’s handheld isn’t the best match for it. Drops into the mid-20s are common, especially during movement or combat.

Performance and Frame Rates

In Act 3, Baldur’s Gate 3 runs at 25-30 FPS on the Steam Deck (within castle walls). The game runs much smoother in the previous acts with fewer NPCs roaming the surroundings. An average of 35-40 FPS is what to expect in the first half of the game.

Graphics Settings

The performance strategy is relatively straightforward here. Set the resolution to 720p (1280×720), disable the V-Sync/frame limiter, and set the refresh rate to 90 Hz. Reduce all the remaining graphics settings, except texture quality to “Low.”

Texture quality can be set to medium, and FSR 2.2 needs to be enabled with the “Balanced” quality preset. For best performance, ambient occlusion should be turned off unless you’re like me and can’t stand the paper-white streets in which case keep it on.

Set texture filtering to 2x anisotropic or trilinear, depending on whether you prefer crisper textures or slightly higher framerates. Everything else, including Instance detail, animation detail, fog/cloud quality, and dynamic crowds should be put to low (or off).

Visuals and Battery Life

Baldur’s Gate 3 looks decent on the Steam Deck, nothing spectacular but passable for a handheld. The battery life lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes on a full charge.

Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Graphics Settings for the Steam Deck: Optimized for 30-40 FPS

Optimized Graphics Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	720p (1280×720)
Refresh Rate	90 Hz
V-Sync	Disabled
Frame Rate Cap	Off
Texture Quality	Medium
Model Quality	Low
Anti-Aliasing	FSR 2.2 “Balanced”
Instance Distance	Low
Distance Detail	Low
Animation Detail	Low
Fog Quality	Low
Cloud Quality	Low
Ambient Occlusion	On
God Rays	Off
Shadow Quality	Low
Dynamic Crowds	Off
Texture Filtering	2x AF

Horizon Forbidden West is among the recent PlayStation exclusives to hit PC. Our optimization guide thoroughly explores the performance impact of each graphics setting in detail. A dedicated analysis of the game on low-end hardware contains tips and tricks to attain a stable 60 FPS on entry-level PCs. This article features the best settings for Horizon Forbidden West on the Steam Deck handheld.

Horizon Forbidden West: Steam Deck Performance Review

Performance and Frame Rates

Horizon Forbidden West nets an average of 30 FPS at 800p (1280 x 800) on the Steam Deck with our optimized settings. There are drops to mid-20 with some stutter when riding the flying mount, but they should be fixed with future updates.

Graphics Settings

With Horizon Forbidden West, we used a mix of low and very low settings on the Steam Deck. The texture quality was set to medium, AMD’s FSR 2.2 upscaler was set to the balanced preset, and the framerates were locked to 30 FPS (from the Steam Deck settings) for a stable experience. Other than bloom, all the post-processing filters including motion blur, depth of field, vignette, and chromatic aberration were disabled.

Visuals and Battery Life

Horizon Forbidden West lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes on a full charge with the below settings. The game looks quite average with a bit of artifacting around thin objects like vegetation and hair.

Horizon Forbidden West: Best Graphics Setting for the Steam Deck

Optimized settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	800p (1280 x 800)
Texture Quality	Medium
Texture Filtering	Trilinear
Depth of Field	Off
Shadow Quality	Very Low
Level of Detail	Very Low
Terrain Quality	Low
Cloud Quality	Low
Ambient Occlusion	Off
Hair Quality	Very Low
Screen Space Reflections	Off
Water Quality	Low
Crowd Quality	Low
Translucency Quality	Default
Screen Space Shadows	Off
FOV	0%
Anti Aliasing	N/A
Upscaling	AMD FSR 2.2 “Balanced”

GTA 5 remains one of the most-played PC games, 9 years after its launch. We have already published an optimization guide for mainstream and high-end PCs last month. This post will highlight the recommended graphics settings for GTA 5 on the Steam Deck handheld. Being a 9-year-old game, we can target much higher framerates than usual (up to 90 FPS) with low to medium graphics settings.

GTA 5: Steam Deck Performance Review

Performance and Frame Rates

We tested GTA 5 at 800p (1280×800) aiming for a buttery smooth 90 FPS across all scenes. The Steam Deck’s refresh rate was locked at 90Hz using the system tool, while in-game V-Sync was disabled. The result was a silky smooth experience at an acceptable quality.

Graphics Settings

In the graphics settings, set the resolution to 1280×800 and the refresh rate to 90Hz. Enable FXAA, and disable MSAA and V-Sync. Proceed to the LOD sliders, and reduce the population density and distance scaling sliders to 0. The population variety slider can be maxed out.

Below the sliders, set the texture quality to “Very High.” Further below, set the shadow quality and shader quality to “High.” In the lower section of the graphics menu, set the reflection, grass, water, and particle quality to “Normal.” The reflection MSAA can be set to 2x, while soft shadows are best left at “sharp.”

Ambient occlusion, texture filtering, and Post FX also need to be reduced to “Normal.” Save the settings, and head to the advanced graphics menu. Long shadows can be enabled, while everything else should be disabled or reduced to 0.

Visuals and Battery Life

The Steam Deck OLED lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes when running GTA 5 on the below settings. The game looks visually pleasing on the Deck, nearly as good as on the consoles.

GTA 5: Optimized Settings for the Steam Deck

Optimized Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	800p
Texture Resolution	Very High
Texture Filtering	8x
Shadows	Sharp
Shadow Quality	High
Reflection Quality	Normal
Reflection AA	2x MSAA
Shader Quality	High
Grass Quality	Normal
Ambient Occlusion	Normal
Water Quality	Normal
Particle Quality	Normal
PostFX	Normal
Anti-Aliasing	FXAA
Tesselation	Normal
Distance Scaling	0
Population Density	0
Population Variety	100
Extended Shadows	0
Extended Distance Scaling	0
Long Shadows	On
High Res Shadows	Off

We published the performance optimization guide for Ghost of Tsushima earlier today. This is the second post in that series, recommending the graphics settings for the Steam Deck handheld console. Ghost of Tsushima was tested in the below scene using customized graphics settings that provide a stable 40-45 FPS at 720p. This is one of the more intensive scenes in the game with plenty of fires and rain to stress your hardware:

Ghost of Tsushima: Steam Deck Performance Review

Performance and Frame Rates

Ghost of Tsushima runs at a stable 40-45 FPS on the Steam Deck. That’s fairly high for a recent AAA open-world. Horizon Forbidden West runs at 30 FPS and so does Baldur’s Gate 3. To top it off, these frame rates were recorded during a rainstorm with plenty of embers flying around, so you can expect higher FPS in some of the calmer areas of the game.

Graphics Settings

In the Display section, we set the Resolution to 720p (1280×720), enabled AMD FSR 3.0 (Quality), and disabled Dynamic Resolution Scaling. V-Sync was turned off, and the game was set to Fullscreen.

In the Graphics menu, Texture Quality was set to Medium, Texture Filtering to 8x Anisotropic, and Shadow Quality to Medium. The Level of Detail (LOD) was set to Medium as were Terrain Detail, and Volumetric Fog. Screen Space Reflections (SSR) were set to Low but can be turned off.

Screen Space Shadows (SSS) were also set to Low, while Ambient Occlusion was switched to SSAO Performance. Bloom, Vignette, and Water Caustics don’t have a notable impact on performance and were left On.

Visuals and Battery Life

Ghost of Tsushima is among the most visually impressive games on the Steam Deck. It looks as good as the console versions with an average framerate of 40-45 FPS. The game lasts 2 hours and 30 minutes on a full charge.

Ghost of Tsushima: Optimized Settings for the Steam Deck

Optimized Graphics Settings	Steam Deck OLED
Resolution	720p
Texture Quality	Medium
Texture Filtering	8x AF
Anti-Aliasing	FSR 3 (Quality)
Screen Space Shadows	Low
Screen Space Reflections	Low or Off
Terrain Quality	Medium
Level of Detail	Medium
Shadow Quality	Medium
Ambient Occlusion	SSAO Performance
Upscaling	FSR 3 (Quality)